NZF’s award may be reviewed
For the 12 Football Ferns who complained about the conduct of former coach Andreas Heraf, the release of reviewer Phillipa Muir’s findings brought a sense of relief and vindication.
Now comes the process of moving forward, starting with the Oceania Women’s Nations Cup in New Caledonia in November, where a win will qualify the team for next year’s World Cup and the 2020 Olympics.
Muir found Heraf breached NZ Football’s code of conduct and Worksafe NZ’s bullying guidelines while in charge of the team on two tours earlier this year. He resigned at the end of the July, before the review was completed.
Former Fern Kristy Hill has worked closely with the current players in her role with the Professional Footballers Association and has been in contact with them to discuss the findings of the review. ‘‘Certainly for the players who put in the complaints, there’s a bit of relief, that their concerns were vindicated by an objective party,’’ she said.
‘‘That’s always hard when you’re coming forward. I’ve had a lot of people comment to me – ‘What’s the line between a stern talking to and bullying and harassment?’ – and that’s the difficult thing for a lot of people to come forward, that it’s not sexual and it’s not physical, and you kind of have to justify that it’s still not appropriate.
‘‘Having that independent view of it vindicates them. They feel comfortable that there’s been a robust process that has taken place that has confirmed what they believed to be the case.
‘‘You’ve got factions now developing, with those who complained Sport New Zealand may review its decision to award New Zealand Football’s executive committee (ExCo) the Governance Mark.
The ExCo and NZF were the first national sporting organisation to receive the mark when Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson presented it to them on March 7.
The mark is meant to last for three years before it is reviewed, but on Wednesday, Phillipa Muir’s critical review of both NZF and the ExCo’s conduct in recent times threw doubt on whether they should keep the award.
SNZ chief executive Peter Miskimmin said in a statement that SNZ would review Muir’s report before making any decision on the Governance Mark.
To receive the mark, the ExCo had to ‘‘demonstrate a considered process for development of strategy and an ongoing regime for monitoring efficacy of that strategy’’.
The business of the organisation had to be considered to be conducted within a clear ethical framework. That included accountability to stakeholders.
Here’s what Miskimmin said in March when awarding the mark:
‘‘Attaining the Governance Mark requires sporting bodies to demonstrate that their board is functioning to a high standard and following good practice, with processes in place for director recruitment, clarity on roles, wellstructured meetings and a culture of external accountability.
‘‘National sport organisations have a key role in getting more New Zealanders active, developing talent, keeping communities strong and addressing issues that challenge the integrity of sport. Achieving the Governance Mark is a clear signal that New Zealand Football’s executive committee is wellpositioned for the future.’’
Two hundred and eleven days later, Muir delivered her scathing report.
‘‘ExCo has been too ‘hands off’ in its governance of the high performance area (and some HR matters) in recent years and needs to obtain greater reporting from management,’’ she wrote. ❚ ❚ ❚
November 2: Squads for the Oceania Women’s Nations Cup must be submitted November 4: Players released from their clubs November 19: Nations Cup match v Tonga November 22: Nations Cup match v Cook Islands November 25: Nations Cup match v Fiji November 28: Nations Cup semifinal (if qualified) December 1: Nations Cup final (if qualified) December 8: Fifa Women’s World Cup draw (if qualified) June 7, 2019: World Cup begins
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